EHC Linz
Black Wings Linz | |
---|---|
Greatest successes | |
|
|
Club information | |
history |
EHC Black Wings Linz (1992–2005) EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz (2005–2020) EHC Black Wings Linz (since 2020) |
Nickname | Black Wings |
Parent club | EHC Black Wings Linz |
Club colors | black, petrol, orange |
league | Erste Bank Ice Hockey League |
Venue | LINZ AG ice arena |
capacity | 4,865 seats |
executive Director | Peter Freunschlag |
Head coach | Tom Rowe |
captain | Brian Lebler |
Season 2019/20 | 7th place (main round) 2nd place (qualifying round) |
The EHC Black Wings Linz is an Austrian ice hockey team from Linz ( Upper Austria ) and plays in the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League . The team's home games are played in the LINZ AG ice arena with 4,865 seats. In 2003 and 2012 the Black Wings won the Austrian championship title.
history
EHC Black Wings Linz
The EHC Black Wings Linz was founded in 1992 after the UEC Linz or UEC Upper Austria (in merger with an association from Steyr) could not survive financially. After a few years in the regional and major leagues, the Black Wings played in the 2nd division (now the National League) from the 1997/98 season . The new club's first Bundesliga season was in 2000/01 , they reached 3rd place in the regular season and failed in the play-off at the EC VSV .
After a runner-up title in the following season (defeat in the final against EC VSV ), the Linz team won the Bundesliga championship title in the 2002/03 season . In the following season, the Linzers also reached the European Cup semi-finals.
In April 2005, the Black Wings had to file for bankruptcy again , because the club management invested too much money for new players after the championship title in 2003, but the sporting success did not materialize. The club was re-established under the name EHC LIWEST Black Wings Linz . The Linz cable network operator Liwest made this possible by becoming the association's main sponsor.
EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz
The club has existed in this form since the 2005/06 season after the EHC Black Wings Linz , which had existed since 1992, had to go bankrupt.
In the 2006/07 season , the EHC LIWEST Black Wings Linz was back in the play-offs for the first time under new club management. Despite initial difficulties, third place could be maintained in the regular round. However, Linz lost in the semi-finals "Best of Five" against EC VSV with 0: 3 and thus could not maintain the chance of the final or a renewed championship title.
Gregor Baumgartner, Phillip Lukas and Raimund Divis from Linz took part in the 2007 World Cup with the Austrian national team , which was also trained by Jim Boni . All three contributed scorer points and scored a quarter of all goals scored with a positive or non-negative plus-minus balance .
In the 2007/08 season , the Black Wings surprisingly secured first place one round before the end of the regular season and went into the placement round with 4 bonus points. With this achievement, the Upper Austrians were able to secure their participation in the play-offs before the turn of the year 2007/08 and were among the extended circle of favorites for the championship title. The Black Wings finished the placement round in third place behind the Vienna Capitals and the EC KAC . In the following play-off they were eliminated in the semi-finals "best of 7" against Olympia Laibach with 4: 2.
In the 2008/09 season a farm team was set up with the Linzers , which played its games in the major league . In the last game of the first team's regular season, the decision was made in a direct duel as to whether the EC VSV or Linz would take fourth place. Villach won the game in Linz 2: 5. In the quarterfinals, the Black Wings prevailed in the “Best of Seven” series with 4: 2. The EC KAC clearly won the semi-final series 4-0 against EHC Linz. This ended not only the 2008/09 season for the Black Wings, but also the era of head coach Jim Boni , who had already signed a contract as sports director at ERC Ingolstadt during the current season . His successor is Kim Collins .
In the 2009/10 season , the EHC Liwest Black Wings finished the basic round on rank 4 and played in the quarter-finals against Villach , where they won this 4-1. In the semifinals against the Vienna Capitals , they were the first team in Austrian professional hockey to convert a 3-0 deficit into a win in the "Best of seven" playoff series. Ultimately, they were able to prevail 4-3 and then played in the final against the team of EC Red Bull Salzburg for the 2009/2010 championship. In this, however, despite a 2-0 lead in games, they were subject to the increasingly stronger Salzburgers and thus became runner-up.
In the 2010/11 season , the Black Wings could not keep the expectations of the fans from last season. After a weak start in autumn and the end of the table in the meantime, Linz was only able to fight their way back to the middle of the table in spring. After a few good series, they even fought for fourth place in the regular round, which would have meant home rights against the EC VSV in the quarter-finals. Finally, as fifth, they had to do without this and clearly lost 4-1 to Villach in the first playoff round. The end of the season also meant the personal consequence of dismissing coach Kim Collins . Rob Daum was signed as head coach for the next season .
Even before the 2011/12 season , Rob Daum had massively redesigned the team, which was reflected in no fewer than 12 new signings. The aim of the new head coach was to find a good mix of young players and experienced supporters. That this system was bearing fruit was evident from the start of the season. For the first eight laps they were in second place in the table behind the EC KAC , before taking over the lead in the standings from the ninth round and not giving up until the end of the season. In the play-offs , the Stahlstädter only had problems with the Vienna Capitals in the first round, who only qualified eighth for the finals in the last game of the intermediate round. Against the fighting capitals they were promoted to the semi-finals by a 4: 3. The following 4: 1 wins against the Laibacher (semi-finals) and the EC KAC (final) were much clearer. After 2003 , the Black Wings won their second championship title .
The master squad remained almost unchanged in 2012/13 . The play-off could be reached directly, where the Linz team triumphed over the EC VSV in the quarter-finals. In the semifinals they were eliminated against the eventual champions EC KAC. On May 14, 2014 it was announced that the club will cooperate with the HC Steelers Kapfenberg in the future . Both clubs should benefit as the Kapfenberg players can borrow and Linz players get more game practice. The Kapfenberg team are allowed to field 3 players from Linz per league game in the Inter-National League .
For the 2013/14 season , the EHC gave up a large number of key players and brought in Andrew Kozek and Michael Ouzas , among others . With the second place in the main round, the club came again directly into the play-off, where in the quarterfinals a victory against Orli Znojmo followed. In the semifinals they lost to EC Red Bull Salzburg.
In 2014/15 the second place in the main round was again achieved behind Salzburg, with Andrew Kozek, Brian Lebler and Rob Hisey standing out as three of the strongest scorers in the league. Goalie Michael Ouzas achieved the second highest catch rate in the league behind the VSV goalkeeper Lamoureux . After a narrow quarter-final victory against HC Bozen, the semi-final against Vienna Capitals followed.
The 2015/16 season was similar to the previous season. Second place in the main round was again fought behind Salzburg, with Andrew Kozek and Brett McLean making themselves number 2 and 3 in the league's top scorer table. Michael Ouzas was again the second strongest goalie at the EBEL. After a quarter-final victory over HC Bozen, the Linz team were eliminated in the semifinals against Orli Znojmo.
After a year in Germany, the 2016/17 season, long-time audience favorite Brian Lebler returned to Linz and scored the second-most goals in the main round straight away. Behind the superior league leaders Vienna, the Black Wings finished the first phase of the regular season with only one point behind Salzburg, in 3rd place. The Upper Austrians made the most dangerous offensive with 168 goals, but had increasing problems with the start of the placement round Evaluation of chances and slipped to fourth place with 6 defeats from ten games. In the quarter-finals, the series of returns from the previous year against HC Bozen followed. The Stahlstädter could only win the first meeting and after four defeats in a row, for the first time since 2011, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Subsequently, an agreement was reached with the long-time head and master trainer from 2012, Rob Daum , to terminate his contract early.
For the 2017/18 season , the US-American Troy Ward took over the coaching position at the Black Wings and they reached third place in the main round behind Vienna, tied on points with Salzburg. With the newly signed Corey Locke , Brian Lebler , Dan DaSilva and Fabio Hofer among the first seven shooters in the scorer list, the Linz team was again an offensive team this year. The Upper Austrians also finished the placement round in third place and chose for the quarter-finals, the duel with the Croatian representative KHL Medveščak Zagreb, who had re-entered the league . Despite two defeats at the beginning, the team from Stahlstadt prevailed with 4-2 victories and faced EC Red Bull Salzburg in the semi-finals . A close series developed against the Mozartstädter, but this time the Black Wings were left with 2: 4. Much more than the elimination in the semifinals, the Black Wings hit the end of the career of the long-standing club icons Philipp and Robert Lukas after the end of the season . The brothers, who were born in Vienna, were an integral part of Austria's top division for over 20 years and played almost 2000 games together.
With the end of the Lukas era , the Linz team started a change in the squad for the 2018/19 season and the Upper Austrians signed a total of thirteen new players. Over the entire season, the Linzers never really got going and only ended up in seventh place in the main round. Shortly before the end of the first championship phase, the cooperation with head coach Troy Ward was terminated as a consequence of inconsistent performance and the American Tom Rowe took over . Under the new leadership there was a clear improvement at the beginning, the first time missing the early play-off qualification, but could not be prevented. The Upper Austrians had to fight for the first time and as the last club not yet participating in the qualifying round to participate in the quarter-finals. Despite five defeats, the Stahlstädter managed to qualify in first place and were then selected for the quarter-finals by the table leaders from Graz, against whom only one win in the entire main round. Despite a large number of injuries, the Stahlstädter fought their way up to game 6, which the Graz 99ers won in Linz and won the series 4-2.
EHC Black Wings Linz
After internal disagreements in the management of the Black Wings Linz - club boss Peter Freunschlag had overruled the three vice-presidents in his double function as chairman and treasurer of the club in a personnel decision - the board members Karl Egger, Peter Matausch and Peter Zauner split on April 11, 2020 from Association and announced on April 13th that a new association, the EHV Linz, had been founded in Linz.
On April 14, 2020, the owner of the Eisarena - Linz AG - announced that the lease agreement, which ran until April 30, would no longer be extended and that the previous main sponsorship for the Black Wings would be discontinued. Liwest, the second main sponsor of Black Wings Linz, also withdrew as a sponsor and asked the EHC to remove the LIWEST brand from the club's logo and name. A few days later, the EHC Linz and Linz AG agreed on the continued use of the ice arena.
Club statistics
season | GP | W. | L. | OTL | Win% | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | Pts / PT | annotation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000/01 | MR | 36 | 25th | 8th | 3 | 73.61 | 144 | 94 | +50 | 40 | 53 | Semi-final out |
PO | 9 | 4th | 5 | 0 | 44.44 | 26th | 32 | −6 | - | - | ||
2001/02 | MR | 32 | 26th | 5 | 1 | 82.81 | 147 | 62 | +85 | 39 | 53 | Runner-up |
PO | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 76.92 | 50 | 36 | 14th | - | - | ||
2002/03 | MR | 42 | 29 | 9 | 4th | 73.81 | 173 | 103 | +70 | 51 | 62 | master |
PO | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 95.00 | 39 | 19th | +20 | - | - | ||
2003/04 | MR | 48 | 27 | 18th | 3 | 59.38 | 147 | 119 | +28 | 43 | 57 | Semi-final out |
PO | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 8th | 12 | −4 | - | - | ||
2004/05 | MR | 48 | 20th | 23 | 5 | 46.88 | 119 | 157 | −38 | 32 | 45 | 5th place, no playoff participation |
2005/06 | MR | 48 | 24 | 19th | 5 | 55.21 | 141 | 156 | −15 | 38 | 53 | 6th place, no playoff participation |
2006/07 | MR | 56 | 31 | 22nd | 3 | 58.04 | 196 | 167 | +29 | 51 | 65 | Semi-final out |
PO | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 15th | −6 | - | - | ||
2007/08 | MR | 36 | 22nd | 9 | 5 | 68.06 | 111 | 91 | +20 | 49 | - | Semi-final out (Austrian runner-up) |
PR | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 50.00 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 14th | - | ||
PO | 11 | 5 | 6th | 0 | 45.45 | 30th | 30th | 0 | - | - | ||
2008/09 | MR | 54 | 30th | 21st | 3 | 58.33 | 166 | 144 | +22 | 63 | - | Semi-final out |
PO | 10 | 4th | 6th | 0 | 40.00 | 18th | 27 | −9 | - | - | ||
2009/10 | MR | 54 | 30th | 15th | 9 | 63.89 | 176 | 150 | +26 | 69 | - | Runner-up |
PO | 18th | 10 | 6th | 2 | 61.11 | 67 | 62 | +5 | - | - | ||
2010/11 | MR | 54 | 26th | 21st | 7th | 54.63 | 156 | 166 | −10 | 59 | - | Quarter final out |
PO | 5 | 1 | 4th | 0 | 20.00 | 7th | 16 | −9 | - | - | ||
2011/12 | MR | 40 | 29 | 7th | 4th | 82.50 | 147 | 104 | +43 | 66 | - | master |
PR | 10 | 6th | 4th | 0 | 60.00 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 16 | - | ||
PO | 17th | 12 | 4th | 1 | 73.53 | 63 | 39 | +24 | - | - | ||
2012/13 | HR + PR | 54 | 34 | 18th | 2 | 62.96% | 196 | 164 | +32 | 70 | - | Semifinals |
2013/14 | HR + PR | 54 | 33 | 19th | 2 | 61.11% | 178 | 153 | +25 | 68 | - | Semifinals |
2014/15 | HR + PR | 54 | 35 | 16 | 3 | 64.81% | 189 | 137 | +52 | 73 | - | Semifinals |
2015/16 | HR + PR | 54 | 33 | 16 | 5 | 169 | 142 | +27 | 85 | Semifinals | ||
2016/17 | HR + PR | 54 | 33 | 16 | 5 | 197 | 163 | +34 | 86 | Quarter finals | ||
2017/18 | HR + PR | 54 | 32 | 17th | 5 | 193 | 158 | +35 | 82 | Semifinals | ||
2018/19 | HR + QR | 52 | 23 | 19th | 8th | 167 | 161 | +6 | 69 | Quarter finals | ||
Main round | 710 | 414 | 237 | 59 | 58.00% | 2386 | 1967 | 419 | 811 | - | ||
Placement round | 20th | 11 | 8th | 1 | 57.50 | 68 | 64 | +4 | 30th | - | ||
Playoffs | 99 | 54 | 39 | 6th | 56.49 | 317 | 288 | +29 | - | - |
Legend:
HR = main round, PO = playoffs, PR = placement round, QR = qualifying round, GP = games played, W = games won, L = games lost in regular time, OTL = games lost in overtime or penalty shootout, Win% = percentage of absolutely scored at the total possible points, GF = goals scored, GA = goals received, + / - = goal difference, Pts = points, Pts / PT = points without sharing points
team
Squad of the 2020/21 season
As of August 21, 2020
Master teams
Champion team of the 2002/03 EBEL season | |
---|---|
goal | Pavel Nešťák , Michael Mayer |
defense | Robert Lukas , Jan Krulis , Sven Klimbacher , Petr Kuchyna , Thomas Pfeffer , Mario Berger , Reid Simonton , Michael Shea , Michael Mayr , Philipp Wieltsch , Jiri Hala , Serge Poudrier |
Storm | Mark Szücs , Rick Nasheim , Christian Perthaler , Philipp Lukas , Ralph Intranuovo , Ray Podloski , Andreas Judex , Markus Peintner , Thomas Eichberger , Martin Pewal , Patrick Steinmayr , Alexander Holzleitner , Georg Obermayr |
Trainer | Dr. Stanislav Barda |
Champion team of the 2011/12 EBEL season | |
---|---|
goal | Alex Westlund , Lorenz Hirn |
defense | Daniel Mitterdorfer , Franklin MacDonald , Michael Mayr , Adrian Veideman , Jan-Axel Alavaara , Curtis Murphy , Fabian Scholz , Robert Lukas |
Storm | Brian Lebler , Danny Irmen , Justin Keller , Michael Lebler , Philipp Lukas , Rob Hisey , Mike Ouellette , Patrick Spannring , Pat Leahy , Daniel Oberkofler , Gregor Baumgartner , Martin Mairitsch , Marcel Wolf , Martin Grabher-Meier |
Trainer | Rob Daum |
Blocked jersey numbers
- # 16 Rick Nasheim
- # 21 Philipp Lukas
- # 25 Mark Szücs
- # 30 Christian Perthaler
- # 55 Robert Lukas
The second team
Steel Wings Linz | |
---|---|
Club information | |
history | Steel Wings Linz (since 2019) |
Location | Linz , Austria |
Club colors | black, petrol, orange |
league | Alps Hockey League |
Venue | LINZ AG ice arena |
capacity | 4,865 seats |
The second team ( within the club Steel Wings Linz ) is also a professional team and has been playing in the international Alps Hockey League since 2019 .
Junior teams
The U20 team (club-internal Black Wings Linz U20 ) has been playing in the Austrian U20 league since 2003 ( EBYSL since 2012 ). The U18 team ( EHC Blackwings Linz U18 within the club ) has been playing in the Austrian U18 league since 2013 ( EBJL since 2012 ).
player
Club-internal records
Statistics since the promotion to the Bundesliga in the 2000/01 season . All preliminary rounds / playoff games are included. (As of the end of the 2017/18 season).
season
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
total
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Significant former players
(Team membership and position in brackets)
|
|
|
|
|
Participation of players in the All-Star-Game
season | player |
---|---|
2005/06 | Pavel Nešťák , Rob Shearer , Dave Chyzowski ; Kurt Harand (trainer) 1 |
2006/07 | Patrick Machreich , Ryan Gaucher , Benjamin Storey , Philipp Lukas , Gregor Baumgartner |
2007/08 | Jürgen Penker , Philipp Lukas , Raimund Divis , Gregor Baumgartner , Mark Szücs , Martin Hohenberger |
2008/09 | Alex Westlund , Robert Lukas , Raymond DiLauro , Philipp Lukas , Gregor Baumgartner , Markus Matthiasson |
2009/10 | Alex Westlund |
- 1 Together with Greg Holst ( VSV ).
Coach history
time | nation | Trainer | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
1992-2001 | Helmut Keckeis | ||
2001-2003 | Stanislav Barda | Champion 2003 | |
2003 | Veli-Pekka Ketola | Dismissed in December | |
2003-2004 | Stanislav Barda | Agreement termination in December | |
2004-2006 | Kurt Harand | Dismissed in February | |
2006 | Mike slip of paper | February to the end of the season | |
2006 | Bill Stewart | Exit from current contract in November | |
2006-2007 | Chris Valentine | December to the end of the season | |
2007-2009 | Jim bonuses | 2 × semi-final out | |
2009-2011 | Kim Collins | Runner-up in his first season | |
2011-2017 | Rob Daum | Master 2012 | |
2017 – Jan. 2019 | Troy Ward | 1 × semi-final out | |
since Jan. 2019 | Tom Rowe |
Venue
The home of the EHC Linz is the LINZ AG Eisarena , which holds 4,863 spectators . The following is the average attendance per home game since the 2003/04 season :
- 2003/04 season: 3,712 spectators
- 2004/05 season: 3,068 spectators
- 2005/06 season: 3,125 spectators
- 2006/07 season: 2,707 spectators
- 2007/08 season: 2,615 spectators
- 2008/09 season: 2,584 spectators
- 2009/10 season: 2,676 spectators
- 2010/11 season: 2,922 spectators
- 2011/12 season: 3,551 spectators
- 2012/13 season: 3,750 spectators
- 2013/14 season: 3,879 spectators
- 2014/15 season: 4,587 spectators
Others
Fan culture
The EHC Linz has three registered fan clubs: Overtime , Powerplay Enns and bully: absolut . These three fan clubs also joined forces in 2007 under an umbrella organization to form Wings United in order to be able to work together more effectively on larger projects such as trips away or summer parties.
Trivia
- From the 2003/04 season Thomas Eichberger played on the basis of an advertising contract with the Austrian broadcaster Radio Oberösterreich with the shirt number 95.2. The frequency for this transmitter is 95.2 MHz in Linz.
- In August 2009 the Black Wings were the first Austrian team to be invited to a tournament in North America by the London Knights . In Ontario , Canada , they competed in the Euro-Can Cup together with EHC Munich and EV Zug and came in third.
- Since the Black Wings in the season 2009/10 its tenth season in the Bundesliga deny they play their anniversary season in Dressen with the standard colors of black and orange club.
- The Black Wings are the first team in the history of Austrian ice hockey that has managed to convert a 0: 3 deficit in the best-of-seven series into a 4: 3 in the play-offs. This feat succeeded in the 2009/10 season against the Vienna Capitals in the semi-finals.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Player statistics AUT WM 2007 (PDF; 63 kB)
- ↑ Alexander Zambarloukos: Black Wings Crisis: The three Vice Presidents withdraw. In: Upper Austrian news . April 11, 2020, accessed April 14, 2020 .
- ↑ Linz AG withdrew the ice rink from Black Wings. In: Austria Press Agency . April 14, 2020, accessed April 14, 2020 .
- ↑ Alexander Zambarloukos: Black Wings Crisis: Freunschlag has to change the club name and logo. In: Upper Austrian news . April 14, 2020, accessed April 14, 2020 .
- ↑ Audience statistics on the ÖEHV homepage ( memento from March 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Homepage of the Black Wings